Fish lure



L. R. METZ Aug. 15, 1950 FISH LURE Filed May 16, 1945 LEONARD R. METZ INVENTOR.

A TTORNEY Patented Aug. 15, 1950 FISH LURE Leonard'R. Metz, Denver, Colo., assignor of onehalf to Dewey H. Burrows, Lakewood, Colo.

Application May 16, 1945, Serial No. 594,027

I! This invention relates to fish lures, and particularly to fish lures of the type which simulate a minnow or small fish. A fish lure constructed in accordance with this invention is particularly useful in catching pan fish, such as bass, crappies, and the like.

Among the objects of this invention are to provide a fish lure which will simulatea minnow or small fish, and which will remain upright during movement over or through the water; to provide 2 Claims. (01. 43-4248) 2 to the said Vertical line. Stated slightly differently, the lower front end of the shell and lure extends to a substantially greater distance forwardly than the upper front end, and preferably even forwardly of eye [5 of hook H.

The forwardly extending lower front section of the shell and body is an important feature of this invention. It has been found by test that if the lower front section of the shell is cut away a fish lure which may be made of different ma- H: terials; to provide a fish lure to which a hook may be securely attached; and to provide an article of manufacture which may be used as an ornament, or as a fish lure.

Other objects and novel features will become apparent from the description which follows,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the fish lure of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevationof the fish lure of Fig. l; i i

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the fish lure of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of a lure having a slightly difierent type of hook.

A fish lure constructed in accordance with this invention, as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, may comprise a body B and a hook H extending therethrough. The body consists of a shell Ill, which is generally elliptical in cross section, i. e., narrower in one direction than the other and rounded, having filler material H, such as some hardenable material like plastic, plastic wood, or wood fibers, disposed therein, and a plurality of fibrous elements [2, such as for example feathers, animal hairs, which may extend from a point within the shell to a point rearwardly of a barb l3 of the book.

The shell Ill may be formed from a portion of a turkey quill, cut away so that the smaller or rear end I4 provides a sufficiently large opening throughwhich an eye l5 may pass for attachment of a fishing line. The eye l5 of the hook is preferably positioned at substantially the centerline of the shell, and the front of the shell is cut away to simulate the open mouth of a minnow, but with an exaggerated undershot lower.

jaw. Thus, the upper section 16 of the front end of the shell is inclined slightly forwardly with respect to an imaginary vertical line through the forward portion of the shell l0, but the lower section I! is inclined forwardly at a greater angle similarly to the upper section, as along dotted line I8 of Fig. l, the lure tends to turn over in the water and lie flat on its side, thus tending to simulate a dead minnow. By virtue of the lower, forwardly extending section I1, which gives an exaggerated undershot jaw effect to the lure as indicated previously, the center of gravity of the lure is transferredto a point below the centerline of the shell, so that eye ii of the hook is always above the center of gravity. This maintains the lure in an upright position, even during complicated maneuvers. Also, the front surface of the undershot jaw has a tendency to dig into the water, thereby furtherassisting in maintaining the lure in an upright position.

The exterior of the shell may be decorated in any suitable manner, such as to provide colored striping and eyes thereon, as shown. The fibrous elements l2 are preferably animal fibres, such as polar bear hairs, beaver hairs, squirrel tail hairs, gamecock feathers, or the like, but artificial fibrous elements of plastic material, or the like, may be utilized, if desired.

The hook H and fibrous elements l2 are embedded in filler material II, which preferably completely fills the interior of the shell and corresponds in extent to the outline of the shell. Such filler material is preferably hardenable, i. e., adapted to be placed in the shell in a pasty condition, or the like, and set or harden to form a relatively hard filling for the shell. Various types of plastics, such as soy bean plastic, granular cements, and the like, are suitable for the purpose. It will be understood, of course, that the filler material is preferably water resistant after setting, or is coated with water resistant material over exposed surfaces.

The filler material holds the hook and the fibrous elements securely within the shell, although in some instances, due to rough usage, there may be a slight tendency for the shank IQ of the hook to turn in the filler. In such instances, the construction illustrated in Fig. 5 may be utilized, wherein shank l9 of the hook is provided with a bend 20, which secures the hook against turning.

The barb l3 of the hook is preferably disposed the barb and the provision of an exaggerated undershot lower jaw of the lure, the latter insuring that the barb will be in the best position" for catching the fish by maintaining the lure in an upright position.

Although the fish lure and ornament of this invention have been shown and described as including a body formed by a shell and filler mate- I rial, it will be understood that the body may be formed in other ways. In addition, the shell l fmay b made of plastic, wood, or v light wei h metal, to any of which the desired decorative effects may be applied, and the filler ll may comprise materials different than, those specified. I, ,It will further be understood that additional 1 changes may be made without departing from the spirit, and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

' What is claimed is;

1. An artificial fish lure comprising a rear- Wardly tapering shell generally elliptical in transyerse Cross section, the smaller end of said shell being to the rear and the front end. of said shell being ut away to imulat he pen mouth of a small fish having an exaggerated undershot lower jaw, the lower front portion of said shell being extended forwardly. for a suflicient distance o loc te the enter of, gravity of the shell at a point below the center line, thereof, a hook dispo ed in part within said shell andprovided with an attachment for a fishing line disposed at the forward. end .of the shell su stantially at the center line thereof, the hook portion thereof extending outward y and downward y in a gradual.

;curve from the rear endof the shell. and terminat- 4 ing at a point considerably below and somewhat beyond the rear small end of the shell, said hook in its entirety extending in the plane of a vertical longitudinal line through the shell, a body of hardenable plastic-like material filling substantially the entire area of the shell and forming a portion of the undershot lower jaw, the shank portion of the hook extending in a rearwardly and downwardly inclined plane through and securely embedded in the body of hardenable plastic-like material, and a plurality of fibrous elements having their inner end portions embedded in'the hardenable material in the vicinity of the rear end of the shell and extending outwardly from said rear end above the hook to spread out in substantially a fan-like arrangement.

2. An artificial fish lure according to claim 1, whereinv the rearwardly' tapering shellis formed from aportionof a quill, V e LEONARD R. METZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the .file of this. patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 284,056 Pfiueger Aug. 28, 1883 1,483,842 Carter -1 Feb, 12, 1924 1,549,792 OKeefe Apr. 18, 1925 1,583,199 Taylor May 4, 1926 1,782,818 Grubman l Nov. 25, 1930 1,846,060 Konoff Feb. 23, 1932 2,119,417 Brown May 31, 1938 2,215,971 Miles Sept. 24, 1940 2,224,389 Haselwood Dec. 10, 1940 2,326,811 Wiggam .et a1 Augll, 1943 2,333,484 Miles Nov. 2, 1943 2,341,823 Smith Feb. 15, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 9,683 Great Britain "1'901 

